Ralf Dahm is Director of Scientific Management at the Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB) in Mainz, Germany. He received his M.Sc. and Ph.D. from the University of Dundee, Scotland, and worked as a postdoc and group leader in Tübingen, Germany, and Vienna, Austria, respectively. Before joining IMB he was Director of Scientific Management at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) in Madrid, Spain. Ralf is currently also a visiting professor at the University of Padua, Italy, where he teaches courses on science management and communication. Address: Institute of Molecular Biology gGmbH, Ackermannweg 4, 55128 Mainz, Germany. Internet: r dot dahm at imb-mainz dot de.